In a statement released March 7, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said an internal investigation into alleged financial irregularities has led to the dismissal of a member of the archdiocesan accounting staff and to a criminal investigation.

Because the matter is a personnel issue, the archdiocese is not releasing the name of the individual involved for privacy reasons.

The text of the statement from the archdiocese follows:

“The Archdiocese’s accounting staff recently identified irregularities related to documentation of certain credit card transactions by a lay employee in the accounting department. Based on that information, the Archdiocese conducted a preliminary investigation into the matter and appointed an independent committee to oversee the investigation. As additional evidence was uncovered, the individual in question was dismissed, and all information was turned over to law enforcement.

“This matter will not affect the Archdiocese’s ability to meet its financial obligations or other responsibilities, including those to parishes, schools and employees. Furthermore, we are confident that insurance will cover substantially all of the loss.

“Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, we are not able to provide further comment at this time.”